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Exploring Arab Middle Eastern womens perceptions of barriers to,

and facilitators of, international management opportunities

Kate Hutchingsa*, Beverly Dawn Metcalfeb and Brian K. Coopera

a Department of Management, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia;

bBusiness and

Management Deanery, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK

Extant research has suggested that there are four key barriers to women undertakinginternational assignments: corporate resistance; foreigner prejudice; womens owndisinterest; and lack of family and other support mechanisms. While there has beensubstantive research investigating the existence of barriers to women undertakinginternational assignments, the vast majority of research has focused on Western womenand Western multinational corporations (MNCs). This study sought to examine thedisposition which Arab Middle Eastern women have towards undertaking internationalassignments. This research is significant because of the growing international strategicpolitical and economic importance of many Arab Middle Eastern nations and that manyArab Middle Eastern women are highly educated and would prove a valuable humanresource for international organizations. This paper reports the findings of a survey of97 middle- and senior-level female managers in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia,Oman, Qatar and the UAE, seeking to elucidate the factors which Arab Middle Easternview as barriers to, or facilitators of, international management opportunities. Thestudy is significant in: a) extending research on women and international work to anArab Middle Eastern context; b) expands understanding of what is international workby highlighting that the majority of Arab Middle Eastern womens managerial,international employment, and skills development opportunities come via non-

government organizations and womens organizations. This makes their opportunitiesfor international engagement very different from those of Western women whooverwhelmingly receive international experience via MNCs; and c) extendsunderstanding of international work barriers to include an assessment of nationalcultural and institutional issues.

Keywords: Arab; culture; international; management; Middle East; women

Introduction

International businesses that employ international managers grapple daily with the need to

address a complex array of issues around staffing, training, performance management andcross-cultural competencies associated with the increased demand for internationally

proficient employees. Yet a major issue that remains unaddressed by many organizations

but which has been erstwhile long-recognized in the international management literature is

the under representation of women among international managers. Although women in

Western nations (and to a lesser extent in developing nations in Eastern Europe, Asia,

South America, Africa and the Middle East) are increasingly represented in senior

management positions, particularly in the public sector and government roles, they remain

an under-utilized resource in international work, despite research suggesting that they

ISSN 0958-5192 print/ISSN 1466-4399 online

q 2010 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/09585190903466863

http://www.informaworld.com

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

The International Journal of Human Resource Management,

Vol. 21, No. 1, January 2010, 6183


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may, in some cases, actually be better positioned than men to handle international

assignments (Altman and Shortland 2001). Recent research suggests that women account

for only 14% of expatriate executives posted from the USA and less than 5% of those sent

abroad from European companies (Van der Boon 2003). Women from developing

countries in Eastern Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East are evenless represented among international managers, despite their increasing representation at

middle- and senior-level positions in their own countries. Significantly, international

business research has only in the last two decades considered gendered dynamics as

important as a category of analysis. Landmark research undertaken by Adler (1984a, b, c,

1994a, b) explored three primary barriers to womens under-representation including;

company resistance; foreigner prejudice; and womens own lack of interest in undertaking

international assignments. Her research has been expanded upon since by authors such as

Harris (2001, 2004), Harris and Brewster (1999), Linehan (2000) and Linehan, Scullion

and Walsh (2001) who have added differing dimensions, including analysis of a fourth

barrier, namely, lack of family and other support mechanisms, to our understanding of

women in international management, but much of it has confirmed aspects of Adlers

research suggesting that there are still obstacles to womens engagement in the

international workforce.

This paper reports findings from an exploratory study which was designed to examine

barriers that exist for women wishing to take international assignments and are of

relevance to women in the Arab Middle East. This region is growing in international

strategic political and economic importance and is one in which many women are highly

educated and are potentially a valuable human resource commodity for international

businesses. While some of the perceptions of barriers initially discussed by Adler have

been discredited in more recent research, studies have overwhelmingly focused on women

from Western, industrialized nations. The study is significant for three reasons, namely,that it: a) extends research on women and international work to an Arab Middle Eastern

context; b) expands understanding of what constitutes international work by highlighting

that the majority of Arab Middle Eastern womens managerial, international employment

and skills development opportunities come via non-government organizations and

womens organizations. This makes their opportunities for international engagement very

different from those of Western women who overwhelmingly receive international

experience via MNCs; and c) extends understanding of international work barriers to

include an assessment of national cultural and institutional issues.

Our research makes an important contribution to theoretical understanding of gender

and theorizing about differences for women in international management generally, andArab, Islamic women, in particular. The study highlights gender as a category of analysis

in international business research through advancing current knowledge of womens

perceptions of barriers to, and facilitators of, international management opportunities.

This study complements earlier research but provides an additional dimension in

considering womens own perceptions about cultural barriers to their participating in

international work. The research is significant in that it explores women working in the

Middle East Islamic states, a previously little represented group in management research.

Our research also adds to the discourse on gendered international work opportunities in

exploring whether the cited barriers (such as, a lack of interest, which has been exploded as

a myth in the Western context) are of relevance for Arab Middle Eastern women, a cohort

which is insufficiently explored in the international management literature (see Metcalfe

2007). Moreover, while the extant research has explored elements of national culture in

assessing whether foreigner prejudice limits womens international management

K. Hutchings et al.62


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opportunities (for a discussion of the relationship between sex and culture, see Cordano,

Scherer and Owen 2002), there has been limited discussion of whether the culture of the

nation in which a woman currently abides and the culture and society with which she is

identified impacts on her international work opportunities.

The research explores responses to a semi-structured survey provided by 97 middle-and senior-level female managers from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman,

Qatar and the UAE.

In order to address the reasons for the research previously identified the key research

questions addressed in this paper are:

Research question 1: What do Arab Middle Eastern women perceive as the barriers to womenin the Arab Middle East taking international assignments?

Research question 1a: What are the perceived organizational and cultural barriers tointernational assignments?

Research question 1b: Is there perceived foreigner prejudice about Arab Middle Eastern

womens abilities to culturally adjust internationally?

Research question 1c: Is there perceived corporate resistance to sending Arab Middle Easternwomen on international assignments?

Research question 1d: Do Arab Middle Eastern women have a positive orientation towardstaking international assignments?

Research question 1e: Have Arab Middle Eastern women had experiences of being treatedunfairly in various areas of HRM?

Research question 2: What factors do Arab Middle Eastern perceive as facilitators ofopportunities for Arab Middle Eastern women to take international assignments?

Research question 2a: What training, education and developmental supports facilitate workopportunities?

Research question 2b: Are there areas in which Arab Middle Eastern women believe theyhave been provided with impediments to, or assistance with, international work opportunities?

The paper begins with a review of the literature on the role of international managers,

women in international management and Middle Eastern women in international

management. This is followed by a description of the survey. The results are then

presented. A discussion is then provided which identifies how the findings of the research

link to extant research. Finally, the conclusion section summarizes the major contributions

of the research, implications for theory and practice and issues for future research.

Gender and HRM and international management in review

Women in international management

There is limited research of the gendered affects and gendered organizational processes of

HRM in the international realm (Hearn, Metcalfe and Piekkari 2006; Nishii and O zbilgin

2007 are exceptions). Womens role in international management, however, is an

established field of study. Research conducted by Adler (1984a, 1984b, 1984c, 1987,

1994a, 1994b) has provided the most comprehensive examination of the role of women in

international management. Adler and her successors (Harris 1995; Heneman, Judge and

Heneman 1999; Sinangil and Ones 2001; Selmer and Leung 2002, 2003; Sinangil and Ones

2003) have attributed the scarcity of female expatriates to three principle/principal causes:

foreigners prejudice; corporate resistance; and female managers disinterest (although

the latter is now largely disputed). Recent research has also suggested a fourth barrier

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 63


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(although it is not actually defined by the authors as such), namely, that there is a lack of

social network support (and we suggest this includes family support) available to female

expatriates, which can fuel workfamily conflict (Linehan 2000; Linehan et al. 2001).

Foreigner prejudice

A frequently mentioned reason for companies hesitation to send female managers on

international assignment is that foreigners prejudice against women makes them

ineffective as managers. Almost three-quarters of human resource managers from MNCs

surveyed believed that foreigners are so prejudiced against females that women managers

would not succeed on expatriate assignments (Adler 1994a). However Adler (1994b) found

that respondents reported numerous benefits of being female. Most frequently, they

described the advantage of being highly visible. Both foreign and local clients were curious

about them, wanted to meet them, and remembered them after the first encounter (Adler

1994a). Women believed foreigners view them first as representatives of a company,

second as a citizen from where they originate, and last as women (Caligiuri, Joshi and

Lazarova 1999; Stroh, Varma and Valy-Durbin 2000). Importantly, more recent research

by Sinangil and Ones (2003), in which they surveyed expatriates currently working in

Turkey, addressed the question of whether female expatriates can be successful in a cultural

environment that may be perceived to be unfriendly to females by Western standards. They

concluded that men and women expatriates on average were rated quite similarly in terms

of their job performance and that employing more women in the international workforce

would enhance the quality of workforce diversity and build more inclusive contexts in

expatriate assignments, albeit without decreasing job performance. It should be noted,

though, that again here the research examined primarily Western expatriates. Foreigner

perceptions of Arab Islamic Middle Eastern women may be quite different.

Corporate resistance

Adler (1984a, 1984b) further suggested that a majority of disadvantages experienced by

female expatriates involved a lack of organizational support (Adler 1984a, 1984b).

Corporate resistance has been viewed as arising from two sources: male colleagues

perceptions of female expatriates; and an unsupportive corporate attitude towards female

expatriates. Research proved that men believed that women are qualified for career

development in domestic positions only and not for international positions (Adler 1987;

Harris 1995). It has been argued that the more powerful positions in organizations arefilled almost exclusively by men (Selmer and Leung 2002, p. 350).

It has also been argued that when companies select women for expatriation, it is often

due to the fact that all potential male candidates have already turned down the assignment.

Continually, companies prefer to offer women temporary or fly in/fly out assignments

(Adler 1994a). Others report that closed, informal systems for expatriate selection are

predominantly in place, severely restricting the pool of potential candidates (Harris and

Brewster 1999; Harris 2001; Linehan et al. 2001). An additional study by Selmer and

Leung (2002) found that career development activities and mentoring arrangements were

also less available to female expatriates. Further research has examined the glass ceiling

effect which presents barriers to international selection. Some researchers also indicate a

glass border, where companies hold assumptions about women as managers and their

availability, suitability and preferences for international assignments (Linehan and

Walsh 1999).



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Another organizational issue related to the scarcity of females on international

assignments is the international recruitment and selection processes for expatriate positions.

Harris and Brewster (1999) conclude that the coffee machine system, is a common form of

placing prospective expatriates on assignments. This happens when colleagues partake in

closed/informal discussions around the coffee machine, which frequently leads to peoplebeing offered international assignments or recommendations of other colleagues capable of

filling the position thus connections are an important aspect of opportunities.

Research has suggested that women may experience less perceived organizational

support when on expatriate assignment, because in many instances their workplace is

predominantly male (Hutchings, French and Hatcher 2008). Research has further shown

that managers receive increasing levels of support as they progress in the hierarchy

(Johlke, Stamper and Shoemaker 2002). At lower levels of management, men are

predicted to receive more support compared to females (Adler 1984a; Linehan 2000;

Harris 2001). It has also been suggested that there are insufficient women in senior

international management positions to act as mentors (Linehan et al. 2001). These types of

cultural practices are unlikely to be found in multinational corporations in the Middle East,

however, where work segregation is common place.

Female managers disinterest

Another common reason suggested for the lack of expatriate women is female disinterest

in pursing expatriate positions (Adler 1984a; Sinangil and Ones 2001). Stroh et al. (2000)

found, in general, women are interested in and are liable to accept expatriate assignments

abroad as frequently as males. The only apparent significant difference was when children

were involved, where women became more likely to decline (Stroh et al. 2000). It should

be noted that a range of academic research as well as studies by consulting organizationsand indeed the research of Adler (1984a) herself exploded as a myth the perception that

women were disinterested in international work, and that womens reluctance to take

international assignments for personal reasons was not because of a lack of interest per se

but rather because of family and broader social/community obligations (see Stroh et al.

2000) and the gendered nature of their domestic and international career development

opportunities (see Myers and Pringle 2005; Tharenou 2008).

Lack of support

A fourth barrier that can be identified that limits womens international work opportunities

is that of a lack of social network or family support. Recent research has also found that thedearth of social network support available to female expatriates is also a significant barrier

(Linehan 2000; Linehan et al. 2001). It has also been suggested that females commonly

receive less career development and mentoring, and while levels of support increase as

individuals progress in the hierarchy, at lower levels of management (where selection

decisions might be made about international opportunities), men are predicted to perceive

more support compared with females (Adler 1984a; Linehan 2000; Harris 2001). It could

also be expected that cultural and institutional perceptions of womens roles in family and

society might also be a factor in determining their international work opportunities.

Women, globalization and management in the Middle East

The increasing engagement of Middle Eastern nations in the global economy has provided

opportunities for Arab Middle Eastern women in the political and business spheres



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(Moghadam 2005). Tables 1 and 2 provide insight into gender and development in the

Arab Middle Eastern nations explored in this research relative to leading OECD nations.

Research into the role of women in management within the context of the Arab Middle

East is a field which has yet to be fully developed (Budhwar and Mellahi 2006) and the

paucity of scholarship on HRM in the Middle East is explained partially by the fact thatthe phenomena of HRM is relatively recent within the Middle East. Similarly as in

international management and international business research, gender has tended to be

Table 1. HDI, GDI and GEM ranking.

Nation HDI GDI GEM

Bahrain 39 38

Egypt 111 73Jordan 86 69 KSA 76 72 74Oman 56 57 UAE 49 49 70Australia 3 3 8UK 18 16 16USA 8 8 12

Notes: 1. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the average achievement in acountry on three basic dimensions: long, healthy life measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge measuredby adult literacy rate and combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schooling; and astandard of living as measured by GDP per capita in purchasing power parity in US dollars.2. The Gender Development Index (GDI) is a measure of human development that adjusts the HDI to penalize fordisparities between women and men in the three dimensions of the HDI.3. The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) was intended to measure womens and mens abilities toparticipate actively in economic and political life and their command over economic resources. It measures threedimensions of agency: political participation and decision-making power; economic participation and decision-making power; and command over economic resources.Source: Adapted from UNDP 2006 Human Development Report.

Table 2. Gender and employment measures.

Income in USdollars

Nation Male Female

Economicactivity rate %(15 and over)

Women ingovernmentministerial level

Seats in lowerhouse %

Seats in upperhouse %

Bahrain 29,107 9.654 29.2 8.7 9 (2005) 0 (2006) 15 (2006)Egypt 6,817 1,588 20.1 5.9 (2005) 2.0 (2006) 6.8 (2006)Jordan 7,038 2,143 27.0 10.7 (2005) 5.5 (2006) 12.7 (2006)KSA 22,617 3,486 17.3 (2004) 0 0 0Oman 23,223 4,273 21.9 10 2.4 (2006) 15.5 (2006)UAE 31,788 7,630 37.4 5.6 0 0Australia 35,832 24,277 56.1 20.0 (2005) 24.7 (2006) 35.5 (2006)UK 37,506 24,448 55.0 28.6 (2006) 19.6 (2006) 17.5 (2006)USA 4,075 30,581 59.6 14.3 (2005) 15.2 (2006) 14.0 (2006)

Notes: 1. No wage data are available. For the purposes of calculating the estimated female and male earnedincome a value of 0.75 was used for the ratio of the female agricultural/rural wage to the make agricultural/rural

wage. 2. Note that women are not allowed to vote in KSA or UAE. Also note that UAE has not signed the UNConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.3. Women are appointed by the ruling government to ministerial seats in Bahrain and UAE.Source: Adapted from UNDP 2006 Human Development Report.



8/24

ignored as a category of social analysis. Current gender research in the Arab Middle East

largely focuses on political participation, womens family roles and health issues rather

than providing detailed critiques of corporate leadership and management (see, for

example, Seikaly 1994; El-Ghannam 2002; El-Azhary 2003; Barlow and Akbarzadeh

2006).Recent research by Metcalfe (2006, 2007) has made a distinguished contribution to

the international management and HRM literature in its comprehensive exploration of the

interrelations between gender, organizational management systems, and Islamic values in

the Arab Middle Eastern work environment. Metcalfe (2006) investigates the barriers to

Arab Middle Eastern womens career advancement, and identifies work-family conflict,

lack of diversity or equality frameworks in organizations and limited organizational and

training support as significant barriers which impede womens career mobility.

These findings suggest that the experiences of women professionals in the Middle

East are comparable with those of female managers in the West, in that barriers or

obstacles to international work may be similar. What is distinct and has not been

comprehensively explored in literature on women in international management, though,

is the complexity of Arab Middle Eastern gender and management relations and the need

to understand business culture without applying a facile generalization of a Western

typology of organizational gender relations to the Middle East context. Al-Hamadi,

Budhwar and Shipton (2007) emphasize that interrelation of national culture and business

culture is particularly significant within the context of the Middle East, where the

influence of religion on political and economic organization is particularly pronounced.

The Islamic religion provides guidelines encompassing all aspects of public and private

existence, and the political and economic spheres. Metcalfe (2006, 2007) furthers the

research by Tayeb (1997) and Rice (1999) in investigating the influence of the Islamic

ethical framework on gender and human relations in suggesting that the lack of HRpolicies concerned with equal opportunity initiatives viewed through an Islamic lens, is

reflective of the equal but different philosophy which founds the ethics of Islamic

gender relations. Metcalfe (2006) highlights how an Islamic gender order premised on an

equal but different philosophy creates gendered work hierarchies which prescribe mens

jobs and womens jobs; supporting segregation in many work spaces. Metcalfe (2006,

2007) suggests, however, that this segregation need not be always be viewed as

discriminatory and as limiting businesswomens opportunities for advancing their

careers, but can encourage womens engagement in their own business development

pursuits, and has led to an expansion in the development of professional womens

associations in the Arab Middle East.In a review of recent literature on women in the Middle East, Keddie (2002) cautions

against generalized assumptions about Middle Eastern womens opportunities, or, as she

later stated, the need to avoid perceptions of most Arab Islamic nations as being

monolithic autocracies in which women are primarily victims (2004). Keddie (2002,

p. 567) suggests that among the many points relevant to womens history that arise from

such contemporary scholarly literature are: (l) the great variability by time, place, class

and ethnic group in womens positions; (2) the degree to which Islamic law regarding

women is and is not observed in practice for example, women rarely inherit land (and

some other property) according to law, but may be (partially?) compensated in other ways

by their natal families; (3) the degree to which courts documents and conclusions may

deviate from the real situation and that court decisions may not be carried out; (4) the huge

under-estimation of womens work in official statistics and the real nature of womens

agricultural and family labor; and (5) the importance of the attitude and biases of



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researchers, some of whom tend to make womens situations look relatively good,

while others stress male dominance and widespread female oppression and suffering

(Keddie 2002, p. 567). Hence, it is critical in assessing womens opportunities that we

realize that while we can gauge a range of perceptions that women hold, that there is need

to avoid generalization in a region that reflects great diversity. Al-Lamky (2007)summarizes earlier research suggesting that in the Arabian Gulf societies, recently

described as bastions of patriarchy and male chauvinism (Abdy 2005, cited in Al-Lamky

2007, p. 49), it is widely believed that a womans place is primarily in the home and if

professionally inclined, their participation is expected to be in the areas of education,

health (mainly nurses) and other support or clerical jobs primarily at the lower end of

organizational hierarchies with leadership positions typically reserved for men. Yet, she

also suggests that at this critical historical juncture in Arab history, there is substantive

international pressure to improve womens situation in the region which has been echoed

through a number of insightful reports and initiatives within a range of Arab Middle

Eastern countries that draw attention to the lagging role of Arab women and the need to

harness their potential for socio-economic and political development (Al-Lamky 2007).

Global feminist networks have long advocated womens role in the development process

and this has been ratified in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals which call

for the eradication of inequalities between women and men in the political and economic

spheres (UNIFEM 2004). Arab Middle East governments, though, in varying degrees have

developed institutional frameworks to help empower women and in particular encourage

womens work and entrepreneurship opportunities. It is clear that in order to advance and

deepen our knowledge of the complexities of gender and international management and

HRM in the Arab Middle East scholars need to be able to contextualize their research in

the juxtaposition of development and tradition.

Middle Eastern women in international management

The extant literature on women and HRM in the Arab Middle East context does not

specifically explore the issue of womens opportunities in international management. The

current research undertakes to address this gap in the literature building on prior studies of

barriers to women in international management, from a largely Western and MNCs

perspective, and women and work within the Middle East to specially explore perceived

barriers and facilitators of international work opportunities for Arab Middle Eastern

women in the private, public and international NGOs sectors.

Method

Sample and procedure

The data for this exploratory study came from a survey conducted between August and

December 2007 of 97 middle- and senior-level female managers in Bahrain, Egypt,

Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

While it is recognized that Israel is a politically and strategically significant country within

the region (that has a significant Muslim and Arab population), and there would be value in

studying it as well as nations within the region that have large Christian populations, this

research was designed to specifically explore perceptions of women living and working

within Arab Islamic Middle Eastern nations in order to elucidate whether there are cultural

and institutional factors that are barriers or facilitators of their international work

opportunities. The seven Arab Middle Eastern nations included in the study were chosen



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because they represent the diversity of economic and political development within the

region and include nations which are strongly Islamic fundamentalist (KSA) as well as

much more liberal and internationalized (the UAE). As well as being representative, the

chosen nations were also ones in which one of the authors had previously conducted

research and consulting and hence had a large pool of contacts and business associationnetworks through which the survey could be administered.

The questionnaire was developed in English, and was largely administered in

English to middle- and senior-level Arab Middle Eastern female managers, who are

conversant in English and many of whom also work in international organizations which

have English as their working language. For some respondents (25 in total) the

questionnaire was translated and back-translated into Arabic by a research assistant

fluent in Arabic and English. Women from middle and senior levels of employment

were targeted because of the likelihood of them being conversant in English (the

international business language) and being highly educated both factors suggesting a

greater propensity for them to be considered for international work assignments. The

questionnaire was administered by email by Arab Middle Eastern business contacts

acquired during previous consulting and training programmes held in the selected

countries. Potential respondents were approached by the contacts and asked to complete

the questionnaire and to send their responses electronically to the second author. The use

of snowballing/convenience sampling through use of existing contacts suggests the

potential for sampling bias on the part of the researchers. However, it is a strategy that

was also used by an international team of researchers reporting best practice in IHRM

(Von Glinow, Drost and Teagarden 2002, p. 150) and is also an approach regularly

employed in developing countries as a means of gaining potential access. In particular,

the existence of personal contacts is essential to undertaking business and arguably to

receiving usable response rates for surveys in the Arab world (for further discussion, seeHutchings and Weir 2006).

All potential respondents were assured of the confidentiality in which the data would

be treated and the voluntary nature of participation. It is acknowledged that conducting

research cross-culturally in an unfamiliar environment is problematic and that employees

in developing countries can be reticent to be critical of management or govern-

ment/political regimes and have tendencies to give socially desirable responses to surveys

(see Hutchings 2004; Xie, Roy and Chen 2006). We have attempted to avoid these

potential problems by gaining respondents through established business association

network contacts thereby addressing respondents concerns about confidentiality of

information and how the findings would be utilized.

Characteristics of the sample

A summary of background information on the 97 respondents is shown in Table 3. As

shown in Table 3, the women were employed across a range of industries and occupations,

with many employed in public, educational and non-government organizations as is

consistent with general trends in womens work in the region. In her research on the UAE,

Abdulla (2006) suggests that Middle Eastern women highlight the value of public-sector

employment because of work conditions that protect indigenous workers from unfair

dismissal, guarantee of employment in cases of long absences due to family illness and

paid maternity leave as well as a lack of network ties within the private sector (which

some achieve through working in their own businesses). We suggest that these women are

also likely to favour NGOs because they provide opportunity for educational advancement



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and exposure to international experience through developmental programmes for women.

Some of the women already had international work experience. Respondents with a mix of

experience was important for the analysis as the research focuses not just on Middle

Eastern womens perceptions of barriers to international work but also their disposition

towards participating in international work. One of the women (an American citizen of

Arab ethnicity, who was working in the KSA) was working outside her country of origin

all respondents were currently working within their country of birth, although many had

prior international work experience, both within the Middle East as well as Europe and

North America.

It is acknowledged that conducting research cross-culturally in an unfamiliar

environment is problematic and that employees in developing countries can be reticentto be critical of management or government/political regimes and have a tendency to

centrality in their responses to surveys (see Hutchings 2004; Xie et al. 2006).

Table 3. Sample characteristics.

Characteristic Options %

Age 18 24 13.4

25 34 48.535 49 34.050 65 4.1

Nationality Bahraini 5.7Omani 8.0Saudi 21.8Jordanian 59.8Other 4.7

Marital status Single 45.3Married 48.4Divorced/widowed 6.3

Dependents Respondents without dependents 59.8

Respondents with dependents 40.2Highest educational qualification Postgraduate (Doctorate/ Masters degree/MBA/) 32.3

Bachelors degree 57.0Other qualification 10.7

Occupation Director/owner 12.5Professional/senior management 34.1Middle management 27.3Supervisor/team leader 26.1

Size of organization 1 49 employees 26.650 249 employees 24.5250 499 employees 14.9500 and over employees 34.0

Industry Banking, insurance and finance 7.4Education 19.0Health 2.1Manufacturing 3.2Public administration 14.7Petrochemicals 6.3Non-government organization 17.9International agency 18.9Business owner 10.5



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Survey instrument

The items used in this survey were adapted from surveys which had been validated by

Stroh et al. (2000) and Vance and Paik (2001) in relation to barriers and opportunities for

women and international employment. Additional Arab Middle Eastern culturally-specific

questions and sub-sets of questions were developed by the authors. The survey includedboth closed and open-ended questions. The attitudinal items were rated on Likert-type

rating scales. The wording of the closed survey items are reported later. The survey

instrument focused on:

. questions about training, development and education received by respondents in

their current organization and factors they believe would assist their international

employment prospects;

. respondents personal experiences with fairness in employment opportunities;

. perceptions of Arab Middle Eastern women managers interest/disinterest in

international work;

. perceptions of corporate resistance to womens international work; and

. perceptions of foreign prejudice to womens international employment

opportunities.

Results

Cultural and organizational barriers

As Figure 1 shows, over half of the respondents (53.6%) reported that stereotypical

perceptions of women managers were a barrier to their international career opportunities.

In addition, limited training and education opportunities, lack of female role models, the

business culture of the home country, and family commitments related to child rearingwere each reported by roughly 40% of the women.

Figure 1. Perceptions of organizational and cultural barriers (%).Note: Multiple responses. Percentages do not total 100.



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Training, professional development and organizational supports

Table 4 shows that leadership and team building was the most commonly mentioned

education and training need (67.0%). Other education and training needs mentioned by

over half of the respondents were interpersonal skills (56.7%) and human resource

management (54.6%).

Just over half of the respondents (51.5%) had attended business/industry seminars as part

of their professional development. However, far fewer women had developed an individual

career plan (28.9%) or had been advised or supported by a mentor (34%). About a half of the

sample (49.5%) had attended NGO training programmes. With regard to organizational

supports, just over a third of the respondents reported a lack of opportunities for part-time

and flexible working (36.1%), and about a third (32%) cited lack of child-care facilities.

Attitudes to foreigner prejudice and cultural adjustmentTable 5 shows that just over a third of respondents (36.2%) either agreed or strongly

agreed that host country cultures disadvantage Arab Middle Eastern women. A similar

proportion either agreed or strongly agreed that host country nationals both inside and

outside the company are prejudiced against female Arab Middle Eastern expatriates.

About half of the respondents (49.5%) reported that female Arab Middle Eastern

executives generally have more difficulty than do their male counterparts in coping with

the aggressive atmosphere of business in an international context.

Attitudes to corporate resistance

Table 6 shows that the majority of respondents (59.0%) of respondents either agreed or

strongly agreed that Arab Middle Eastern companies are hesitant to send women on

international assignments, compared with 30.2% who reported that international

Table 4. Training, professional development and organizational supports.

Aspect Options %

Education/training

needs(a)

Business and administration 42.3

Leadership and team building 67.0Interpersonal skills 56.7Performance management 42.3Human resource management 54.6Quality management 29.9Technical/computing 40.2Intercultural management skills 41.2

Professionaldevelopment(a)

Acted as a mentor 39.2

Advised/supported by a mentor 34.0Developed an individual career plan 28.9Attended business/industry seminars 51.5Attended womens professional organizations 33.0

Attended government womens development and training 25.8Attended NGO training programmes 49.5Attended UN/ILO seminars 20.6

Organizationalsupports

Lack of creche/child care 32.0

Lack of opportunities for part-time and flexible working 36.1Lack of opportunities for teleworking 7.2

Note. (a) multiple response questions. Percentages do not sum to 100 with categories.



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companies are hesitant to send women on international assignments. Just over half of the

respondents (51.6%) either agreed or strongly agreed that Arab Middle Eastern women

who have children are offered fewer international assignments than Arab Middle Eastern

women who do not have children. A slightly lower proportion of respondents (44.8%)either agreed or strongly agreed that Arab Middle Eastern women who have a husband are

offered fewer international assignments than Arab Middle Eastern women who do not

have a husband; however it is worth noting that 38.5% reported a neutral opinion on this

matter. We found no statistically significant differences in attitudes to corporate resistance

by any of the demographic and organization variables.

Attitudes to international assignments

In general, the women had positive attitudes to international assignments. Table 7 shows

that the majority of respondents (66.0%) either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the

proposition that they are not personally interested in going on international assignments.

Interestingly, nearly a quarter of respondents (23.4%) stated they were not personally

interested in going on international assignments, and 34.0% either agreed or strongly

Table 5. Attitudes to foreigner prejudice and cultural adjustment (%).

Stronglydisagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Stronglyagree

Host country culture disadvantagesMiddle Eastern women 11.7 14.9 37.2 18.1 18.1

In general, host country nationals bothinside and outside the company areprejudiced against female Middle East-ern expatriates

8.5 14.9 39.4 25.5 11.7

Because of their more sensitive natures,female Middle Eastern executivesgenerally have more difficulty than dotheir male counterparts in coping withthe aggressive atmosphere of businessin an international context

10.5 18.9 21.1 26.3 23.2

Table 6. Attitudes to corporate resistance (%).


Stronglyagree

Middle Eastern companies are hesitant tosend women on international assignments

5.2 16.7 18.8 26.0 33.0

International companies are hesitant tosend women on international assignments

14.6 31.2 24.0 16.7 13.5

Middle Eastern women who have childrenare offered fewer international assignments

than Middle Eastern women who do nothave children

6.3 10.5 31.6 31.6 20.0

Middle Eastern women who have ahusband are offered fewer internationalassignments than Middle Eastern womenwho do not have a husband

5.2 11.5 38.5 26.0 18.8



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agreed with the proposition that Arab Middle Eastern women in general are not interested

in going on international assignments.

Attitudes to international assignments varied by age, marital status and presence of

children. All of those respondents who were aged 1824 years expressed an interest ingoing on international assignments, compared with just over half (55.6%) of those aged 35

years and over, and 64.5% of those aged 25 34. Those women who were single were more

likely to express personal interest in going on international assignments (81.0%),

compared with those who were married (54.5%). Similarly, those respondents with no

dependent children were more likely to express personal interest in going on international

assignments (78.6%), compared with those with children (47.4%).

Interestingly, there was little variation in attitudes to international assignments by

perceptions of corporate resistance or host country prejudice. However, women who either

disagreed or strongly disagreed that female Arab Middle Eastern executives have more

difficulty than do their male counterparts in coping with the aggressive atmosphere ofbusiness in an international context were far more likely to (82.6%) express interest in

going on international assignments, compared with just over half (54.1%) of those who did

not feel such difficulties.

A large majority of respondents (71.9%) either agreed or strongly agreed that Arab

Middle Eastern women who have children accept fewer international assignments than

women who do not have children. A much smaller majority (54.7%) either agreed or

strongly agreed that Arab Middle Eastern women in dual-career relationships accept fewer

international assignments than women who are single or whose husbands do not work.

While the majority of women (64.2%) either disagreed or strongly disagreed that

female Arab Middle Eastern executives generally are not as qualified for extended foreignwork assignments as are male executives, about a quarter (24.2%) either agreed or strongly

agreed with this proposition. However, the overwhelming majority (78.9%) either

Table 7. Attitudes to international assignments (%).


Stronglyagree

In general, Middle Eastern women arenot interested in going on internationalassignments

11.3 25.8 28.9 12.4 21.6

I am not interested in going on internationalassignments

41.5 24.5 10.6 8.5 14.9

Middle Eastern women in dual-careerrelationships accept fewer internationalassignments than women who are single orwhose husbands do not work

3.2 15.8 26.3 34.7 20.0

Middle Eastern women who have childrenaccept fewer international assignmentsthan women who do not have children

9.4 6.2 12.5 36.5 35.4

Female Middle Eastern executives gener-

ally are not as qualified for extendedforeign work assignments as are maleexecutives

44.2 20.0 11.6 13.7 10.5

I am not as qualified for extended foreignwork assignments as are my malecolleagues

57.8 21.1 6.3 7.4 7.4



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disagreed or strongly disagreed that they are not as qualified for extended foreign work

assignments as are their male colleagues.

In addition to the quantitative data presented above, we also asked survey participants

to respond to several open-ended questions which asked them about instances in which

they had been rated unfairly at work, instances where they believed they had been treatedunfairly in respect to international experiences, and organizational, cultural or institutional

issues which they believe affect international work opportunities for them or other Arab

Middle Eastern women. These open-ended questions were thematically analyzed and

summarized below. Quotations from the women are reported below to illustrate the

diversity of experiences of Arab Middle Eastern women.

Experiences where women felt they were not fairly treated fairly

In respect to women referring to situations in which they believed they had not been treated

fairly (for example in recruitment, selection, training, promotion), the responses focused ontwo key areas interpersonal connections and gendered aspects of work. Several

respondents argued that while qualifications and status are important aspects of Arab

Middle Eastern society and business, personal connections override them in recruitment

and selection choices as well as opportunities for promotion. One respondent argued that

the recruitment procedure and . . . job title . . . doesnt give the true appreciation of the

person, and it all depends on personal connections (Jordan 35). Importantly, such

connections are not necessarily gender-related women from prominent political and

business families have better opportunities than men from poorer families. So, in some

instances, class may be a more important consideration than gender although, it should be

noted that many women will suffer a double disadvantage on gender and class grounds.

Womens opportunities for selection, training and promotion were also viewed as

being clearly related to their gender with many respondents suggesting that they did not

have the same opportunities as men who had equal or lesser qualifications and work

experience. One respondent argued that women are passed over for promotion . . . they

are not seen as being able to support departments (Bahrain 44), while another argued that

men are always seen as more superior and given more opportunities as a woman I

constantly feel the need to prove myself (Jordan 68). One woman academic provide

details of how her gender affected her opportunities to ascertain support from her

university to undertake PHD studies. She stated:

There are no equal career opportunities between male and females in recruitment, selection,

training or promotion, because men are preferred to women. My experience where I felt Iwas not fairly treated is that I wanted to continue my personal and professional development,through pursuing my PhD degree. Another male colleague who is older than me . . . and lessexperienced in teaching and researching applied at the same time to obtain his PhD. For himit took only 2 months to have the organizations approval. For me it took more than 3 years tohave the organizations approval. They (refer to the head office who are men) tried to make itso difficult for me in order to stop me from thinking about my goal. They tried to persuademe that womens branch do not need someone with a PhD; there is a shortage of staff; youneed to change your subject area, you are in the late thirties. . . no scholarship for people whoreach this age; there are waiting lists and you should wait; there are not many universitiesinterested in your area of research; the budget does not allows us to send you to study abroad,you have achieved a lot you do not need to obtain a PhD, and if you insist on studying better

do it as part time so you can work and study. My colleague finished his PhD and now he islooking for another promotion. Why they did that to me is it because I am a woman and theydo not want me to compete with them (men) . . . the good opportunities . . . only reserved formale. (KSA 6)



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Further, womens opportunities were also seen as being affected by their marital and

motherhood status (or potential of such). One woman from Jordan reported that I was

supposed to be the second in charge in the bank 2 years ago, but when I gave birth to my

baby someone else was promoted though he is less experienced and qualified (Jordan 36),

while another maintained that organizations fear training the female. . .

after a couple ofmonths/years she is well trained . . . she may get married and have babies . . . then she may

quit (Jordan 70). Interestingly, even though many professional women in the Arab Middle

East have full-time housekeepers and child carers, the importance of their standing as wife

and mother and perception that this is their primary role in life, blurs the lines between

public and private spheres and affects their employment opportunities.

International experiences where women felt they were not fairly treated

In respect to international experiences of unfair treatment or lack of opportunities for

international experience (for example in recruitment, selection, training, promotion), the

women surveyed responded that opportunities were affected by either: perceptions thatMiddle Eastern organizations held about Arab Middle Eastern womens abilities; or

perceptions that they believed that organizations or individuals in foreign nations had

about Arab Middle Eastern women. In respect to the former issue many respondents

suggested that Arab Middle Eastern organizations or foreign organizations operating

within the Arab Middle East would not provide opportunities for Arab Middle Eastern

women to work internationally because they believed that either they would not be

accepted as international managers or that they were viewed as not as capable as men as

managers. As one respondent argued there is an Arabic mentality that only males can

work internationally (Jordan 70).

Several respondents reported that they had applied for jobs in Western countries buthad not been selected for the positions and argued that they believed they had not been

selected because of the part of the world in which they lived. One woman argued that

foreign managers want foreigners not Middle Eastern women as managers (UAE 17).

Respondents also suggested they believed that the lack of opportunities provided to them

by foreign organizations was because of a combination of cultural stereotyping as well as

political tensions between their societies and the Western world. One respondent claimed

that I am faced with mistreatment as a woman people in the US/Europe have

stereotypes of Arab women (Jordan 72). An American citizen (of Arab ethnicity) who

was working in Saudi Arabia at the time the survey was conducted reported that she was

discriminated against because she was a foreigner even though she shares a cultural and

religious heritage with her co-workers. As she commented:

Well, currently I work with an employer that treats ALL her employees like we are her driversand maids. In this country having the nationality of being American or European or Saudi is anadvantage to getting a higher salary . . . in this case she is not taking it into consideration. Mostforeign women like myself have residency on my fathers ekama [permit] and so I do not havethe benefits. If my ekama was on my employer then perhaps she would consider givingbenefits. Even though I work as many hours as other men and women that have benefits I ambeing robbed of these rights that I believe should be given to ALL full-time workers. Now thatis not being treated fairly . . . being taken advantage of. Since the contract that I currently haveis not an official contract I technically do not have rights to argue with my employer regardingmy salary. I had been promised a raise after a 3-month probation period which we had agreed

upon before hiring. After 6 months of work I went to my employer and asked for myevaluation regarding my work performance that would result in the increase of my salary. Wehad agreed on the increase but once again I was promised but unfortunately denied my raise.Where are my rights here? (KSA 21)



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Other issues which women believe have affected their international work opportunities

or opportunities of Arab Middle Eastern women managers generally

In response to this question some respondents highlighted what can assist their domestic or

international employment opportunities while others referred to impediments to their

domestic international employment opportunities. Impediments that were noted focusedon women rarely even being considered when managerial decisions are being made, and in

the case of some nations, such as Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive,

there are logistic obstacles to employment and networking opportunities. One respondent

argued that there are general cultural perceptions of womens inadequacy for managerial

roles (Oman 13), while another suggested it is womens own belief in themselves that

impacts on empowerment and advancement. As she proffered, in the Middle East women

mistakenly believe that they are weak, sensitive, and not able to handle sophisticated tasks.

This common misconception is negatively influencing women in the workplace and is

creating fewer opportunities for them (Jordan 18).

Arab Middle Eastern women in international development

On the positive side several respondents identified the value of having opportunities to

work in international organizations while in their home country as it their enriches work

experience and could be leveraged for future international employment opportunities.

Where respondents believed that they had skills and knowledge that was highly valued by

international organizations they were largely referring to work that they had undertaken

for United Nations (UN) or International Labour Organization (ILO) projects or for other

non-government organizations. A large percentage of respondents asserted the value of

qualifications with one woman arguing that professional and academic degrees, diplomas

and certificates, increase womens opportunities to work on the international level. . .

andgrow and move higher in the job ladder (Jordan 11). Another respondent highlighted the

importance of having other Arab Middle Eastern women in senior positions who serve as

role models. As she argued, the biggest issue I saw in my working experience was when

our own organizations and companies bring in specialists who are women and believe in

their abilities and treat them professionally (Jordan 15). The most frequently cited issue

for advancing womens opportunities was the general need for belief in, and support for,

Arab Middle Eastern women in their roles in organizations support which needs to come

from family, organizations and government. One respondent suggested the need for a

husbands understanding and support, and support by management (Jordan 75) while

another maintained that:my family is supportive but not all families are supportive of women working generally orworking internationally. The Sheikh needs to do more to encourage womens roles in familiesas more than just a mother . . . we are intelligent, have business skills and usually morequalifications than many men. Women can lead the international development process. . . ifthey receive support to do so. (Oman 16)

Discussion

The findings of this exploratory study support earlier research by Adler, which suggested

womens international opportunities were affected by foreigner prejudice and corporate

resistance. While some of our respondents maintained that their organizations were

opposed to women working internationally, most suggested that the problem was not

actually about organizations directly preventing women from working internationally but



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that there was lack of initiatives to assist their management development for international

experience. Our research found that females own disinterest in international employment

is also identified (in contrast to this barrier being largely dismissed as a myth in the

Western context), with older married women with dependants being much more likely to

report a lack of interest in undertaking international work. Few women provided responsesarguing that they believed there was lack of support in expatriate communities as had been

previously suggested by Linehan (2000) as well as Hutchings et al. (2008), but this could

be because respondents had limited international experience or because the nature of their

work tended to be in NGOs rather than MNCs and these people may have had a stronger

support network than individuals working in the private sector. While not directly

referring to it as such, respondents did support Harris and Brewsters (1999) assertion of

there being a coffee machine selection process, with many respondents arguing that there

is a gendered nature of international employment. There was also evidence of support for

early research into Middle Eastern women and domestic work undertaken by Metcalfe

(2006), Tayeb (1997) and Rice (1999) with respondents suggesting that their opportunities

are affected by work-family conflict, a lack of equal opportunity practices in Arab Middle

Eastern nations, cultural and Islamic attitudes to sex roles as well as a concept of Arab

Middle Eastern women being equal but different.

The findings further suggest that the respondents believe that there is much to be

gained by government policies which provide leadership and training programmes for

women as well as industry meetings and NGO training programmes. Respondents argued

that organizations provide very little in the way of equal employment opportunity

workplace practice and called for the introduction of workplace creches, and anti-sexual

harassment and discrimination practices in a domestic context which would then provide a

foundation for women to leverage international opportunities. In addition to a lack of

supportive practices many women also commented that there are still organizationalbarriers to employment within Arab Middle Eastern nations (which then impacts on

opportunities for international work), citing stereotypes of women managers, lack of a

family-friendly work culture, and lack of strong female role models. In respect to the latter

issues, the evidence suggests that Arab Middle Eastern women are calling for the equal

employment opportunities that were enacted in most Western nations throughout the

1980s and 1990s and view this as fundamental to achieving equal opportunities from

which international employment opportunities may then grow.

While much of the findings are consistent with earlier research suggesting lack of

corporate support and perceived (or real) foreigner prejudice, what is most interesting

about our research is the impact of the local cultural environment in the Arab Middle Easton womens domestic and international work opportunities. Significantly, a number of

respondents pointed to the role of wasta (interpersonal connections) in affecting womens

opportunities and argued that such connections can override gender in the workplace i.e. if

women are from well-connected, prominent, wealthy families then they may have equal

opportunities to their less well-connected male counterparts. And while there may be more

male recruitment, training and promotion opportunities for males, women who come from

wealthy families may actually be able to find international work experiences irrespective

of women generally receiving less support in HR functional areas.

A key finding from our study is that international work experiences need to be more

broadly defined to incorporate those activities outside of transnational corporations,

namely all forms of international development and associated human rights and social

justice roles. Importantly while Arab Middle Eastern women may suffer from foreigner

prejudice based on cultural and religious stereotypes and may not be considered by private



20/24

and MNC organizations for international work, they do benefit from training and job

opportunities being provided by womens NGOs, womens professional organizations and

governmental agencies responsible for womens issues which, they argued, tend to be less

gender factionalized than MNCs. The internationalization of discourses of equality,

empowerment, autonomy, democratization, participation and human rights has beencaptured and extended by womens organizations globally. Global feminism is responding

to political-cultural movements, including forms of fundamentalism, thereby creating

opportunities for women to participate and contribute to global and regional agendas of

social development and change (Barlow and Akbarzadeh 2006). It is certainly a weakness

that the current international management literature is dominated by concerns that

evaluate the HR practices and institutional structures of MNCs and has ignored managerial

systems in international agencies such as NGOs, the ILO and United Nations subsidiaries.

International organizations play a vital role in economic and social development and play

a key role in nurturing learning and knowledge transfer, within and across organizations

and cultures as our study exemplifies. International agencies and NGOs play a pivotal

development role in educating women about employment rights, opportunities and

professional skills. In addition international agencies such as the UN and ILO have also

provided the foundations upon which organization, training and equality principles can be

benchmarked as illustrated inter alia by regulations and labour standards.

While respondents suggested that there is a need for government policies and

organizational support for womens opportunities, they maintain that the greatest change

required is social change and the provision of support from husbands and families to allow

women to manage their work and family responsibilities, and to provide them with the

capacity to undertake international work. This aspect of our research extends other IHRM

literature on expatriate management in proffering the need for changing thinking about the

gendered nature of economic earning and dominant partners on international assignments.Our findings also add to extant research on women in international assignments in arguing

that in addition to foreigner prejudice, corporate resistance and females own disinterest in

international work is the need for national social change (and family and network support)

to assist womens perceived value as potential international managers.

Conclusions

Theoretical implications

There are three key theoretical contributions of this exploratory research. First, the research

broadens existing literature on women in international management from a focus largely onWestern expatriate females to an examination of Arab Middle Eastern womens perceptions

of barriers and facilitators of international work for them and their peers. Second, this

research is significant in that it extends our understanding of what international work is. In

current theoretical argument it is assumed that international work experience is gleaned from

international assignments in MNCs. Underpinning this is an assumption of Western-based

forms of capital organization and structures. Overwhelmingly, the women in our study

worked in international assignments in non-government organizations and international

development agencies as well as working intra-regionally. The results, therefore, lend

support to earlier research which explored whether there is foreigner prejudice but suggests

that stereotypical judgements that might potentially be made about Arab Middle Eastern

women were perceived as occurring primarily in MNCs whereas international NGOs and

agencies were perceived as providing a more supportive and developmental environment.

Our research suggests that critical debate of work and organization needs to move beyond



21/24

dominant understandings of private and public sector employment. Third, this research

builds upon Adlers categorization of barriers to womens international work (foreigner

prejudice, corporate resistance and womens own lack of interest) and more recent research

on the role of family and other support mechanisms to also consider impediments to

womens international work opportunities based on specific national cultural andinstitutional barriers. It is important to recognize that this research questions the

universalism of Western womens international management experience. This is borne out

by the fact that economic growth and development is occurring in developing and transition

economies and their experience of internationalization is markedly different. It is

acknowledged, however, that the data collected are based on a relatively small sample size

and that an examination of attitudes and perceptions of women in six Arab Middle Eastern

nations may not be generalizable to other Middle Eastern countries or other Islamic or

developing nations. Nonetheless, the research does highlight the need to explore national

factors as barriers to womens international work prospects.

Limitations and issues for future research

Despite the significant contribution this research makes in developing earlier research on

women in international management and exploring a hitherto under-researched area,

namely issues around work and employment for Arab Middle Eastern women, there are

three key limitations of this research which highlight the need for further research. First,

we surveyed women currently working within the selected seven Arab Middle Eastern

nations. With the exception of one individual who was an American citizen of Arab

ethnicity, all of the other respondents were working within their own home country or a

neighbouring Middle Eastern country. So, the findings of this survey are limited to the

experiences of Arab Middle Eastern women working within other Arab Middle Easternnations. There is a need for future research to survey Arab Middle Eastern women who are

currently on an international assignment, or have previously held an assignment, outside

the Middle East this would allow for testing of the foreigner prejudice barrier identified

by Adlers research. Second, we only surveyed women about their experiences working

domestically and internationally in the Arab Middle East and their perceptions of barriers

to Arab Middle Eastern womens domestic and international opportunities. It would also

be beneficial for future research to survey men in the Middle East and compare their

perceptions of Middle Eastern womens opportunities and barriers to recruitment, training

and promotion, with the responses provided by women. Third the focus of our research

mirrored and built upon Adlers research into barriers to womens opportunities. There isneed for future research to also explore positive experiences with work and employment

internationally in asking women to report situations and experiences in which their skills

and knowledge are valued by organizations, government and society and what can be done

to maximize their international employment opportunities. Specifically, this should also

incorporate assessment of womens work in international organizations. More generally

IHRM literature needs to consider HR practices in international agencies. Fourth, our

sample size was not sufficient to specifically explore whether there were differences in

perceptions in differing countries this could potentially be expected given the vast range

of political, socio-economic, and developmental experiences of countries in the region.

Moreover, future research might be extended beyond Islamic-dominated countries to also

consider countries with differing religious bases, such as Israel, in which most people

are practicing Judaism, or Lebanon, in which a large percentage of the population are

Christians, and whether these factors impact on perceptions of international opportunities.



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Managerial/HRM implications

This research identified the need for organizations and Arab Middle Eastern

governments to provide initiatives to assist Arab Middle Eastern womens work and

employment opportunities domestically and internationally within and outside the Arab

Middle East. Within organizations in the Arab Middle East there is need for senior andHR managers to implement equal employment opportunity policies which encompass

worklife balance programmes such as provision of child care or child-care subsidies

and flexitime or teleworking. Organizations also need to provide career development

plans for women that recognize the importance placed on child rearing and family

responsibilities within the Arab nations. Further, organizations need to provide mentors

and role models for women and showcase the achievements of successful women within

their organizations to provide impetus to other women to aim for senior positions, as

well as communicating clearly all policies and training staff in equal employment

opportunity practices.

To assist Arab Middle Eastern women to maximize their potential for internationalemployment, organizations in the Arab Middle East could provide secondments and short-

term international assignment postings or cultural exchanges to other counties as well as

ensuring that women have equal access to training and cross-cultural training. Moreover,

as has begun to occur in the Western world, there is need for cognizance of dual career

issues and assistance in providing jobs for male trailing spouses where women are posted

internationally.

In addition to initiatives that can be taken by organizations to assist womens

international employment prospects there is a necessity for overall national culture and

value change in Arab Middle Eastern nations; change which can be led by government

plans to promote equal opportunities for women through enactment of anti-sexual

harassment and anti-discrimination legislation, womens development plans, and equalemployment opportunity campaigns.

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